The Fab Five

“Deep within the archives of the University of Michigan lie the remnants of a revolution.”

The Fab Five is a 2011 ESPN Films documentary about the 1990s Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball players: Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. The documentary chronicles how they became iconic figures in the media and arguably the most famous college basketball team of all time – influencing and revolutionising a nation of basketball fans with their baggy shorts, black socks and trash-talk on the court.

The documentary is a great piece produced by one of the five: Jalen Rose. It really focuses in on the cultural impact and scandal that seemed to follow the players, how the contemporary media derided as thugs and villains, and how enterprise rode them as a multimillion dollar merchandising juggernaut. But the main thing you take away is just how tight this group of college stars were.

“We’re brothers, and we’ll always be brothers. They made me who I am. And I know, regardless of whatever happens in my life, beyond family, that have the same blood, that is the closest I will get to blood brothers.” Jalen Rose